What Is The Problem?

The problem is of dirty surroundings, mountains of waste, the lack of civic sense and hygiene across the country. This is the reason that our towns, roads, markets, lakes, rivers, parks and hills have huge quantities of rubbish spread all over.

This leads to all kinds of problems. People are not aware of the seriousness of the problem. The massive amount of waste that is thrown all across is acting like a slow poison and its negative effects would manifest inunknown, multiple ways. And once it is too late, or perhaps already is, there will be very little opportunity to correct the situation. Even a Herculean effort will not save us and our surroundings from the consequences.

Come let us change the way we approach this problem, the way we perceive the menace of dirty habits and filthy surroundings. Let us take upon us the responsibility of bestowing a clean and green India on our future generations

Faith Does Not Teach Us To Spread Filth

India is a nation of many faiths and millions of believers. Perhaps, there is no other country in the world whose people are so deeply spiritual and religious. Prayers and festivals are seeped into the fabric of our cultural ethos.

Even if passing by at a distance from a religious place, we bow our heads towards it. But a closer look reveals that even the abode of Gods is not spared the malaise of dirt and filth. It is difficult to walk through or sit in the precincts of several religious places. Carelessly spilt Prasad, discarded flowers and other Puja material lie all around and prove to be a blot on the face of India.

While faith moves mountains, the filth spread around our places of worship fails to move the hearts of visitors including those from overseas. When will we spread the true lamp of awareness at our places of worship?

Our Dying Rivers

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of modern India is the state of its rivers. We revere the Ganges as our Mother, yet we are its greatest polluters. It is as if we expect her to not just wash our sins, but also wash away the detritus of our vast humanity.

The mighty river starts from the pristine Gangotri, yet by the time it merges into the ocean, we end up soiling and polluting it at every step. Today people think twice before imbibing water from the river, a far cry from the past.

Countless projects to clean the river have failed and billions have literally gone down the drain. This is also true of our lakes and water bodies. In effect, our entire fresh water ecosystem is on the verge of collapse. The ill effects of this and the long term consequences will be felt all across the country and by hundreds of million people.

Natural Beauty-Human Blight

Dense forests with teeming wildlife, beautiful meadows, thousands of blooming flowers and a gurgling brook – are increasingly becoming figments of our past. From Gardens of Five Senses, our parks increasingly resemble dumping grounds for plastic waste, discarded packets of food items, cigarettes, Gutka packets and all sorts of other rubbish. On one hand you have an India or massive malls, long metros, gleaming airports, but the moment you step out of these comforts, the harsh reality of the “Indian way” of life hits us. It is like a hundred dark spots on a face, spots that putrefy and manifest in myriad diseases including cholera, dengue, malaria and gastritis among others.

Speed Breakers For Tourism

Nature has gifted us with countless gifts – from snow capped mountains to mighty rivers, countless lakes, a vast shoreline, a vast variety of flora and fauna. Yet, despite all of this, our country does not figure in one of the preferred destinations for foreign tourists. If we honestly analyse the problem, we will realize that one of the reasons that a lot of people get turned off is the dirt, waste and lack of hygiene. Why can we not change this state of affairs?